Author Archives: Prayingangela

Water on Thirsty Ground

Posted in Holiday, My thoughts, Nations, Nature, Travel by

Today a friend took us for a drive to the mountains on the island of Zaykynthos. As we drove out we noticed heavy smoke billowing from a hill near the town of Keri. Forest fires broke out. The wildfire in progress on the island of Zakynthos has led authorities to evacuate some exposed houses on the village of Keri, in the southern part of the island, as well as 120 tourists staying at a hotel there.

The tourists were taken by bus to another hotel, in the nearby resort of Kalamaki.

The fire service said 10 of the 12 fires burning on Zakynthos are still unchecked, with high winds making it difficult to control the flames. A fire brigade commander says they have consumed mostly forests and olive groves so far.

Later we were having lunch in a small village on the coast. We watched as two aeroplanes dipped down to the sea and picked up water. Then they circled around to take the water and dump it on the fire fronts.

A short time later a helicopter arrived, hovered over the sea and filled a large container with water and flew off to fight the fire.

Before my eyes I was seeing the fulfilment of a verse I had read before my holiday.

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land,” Isaiah 44 v 3

‭‭This verse refers to the promise of God pouring out the Holy Spirit on anyone who is thirsty for the things of God.

Help in Time of Trouble

Posted in My thoughts, Prayer, Thoughtful Thursday by

I’m always encouraged and get inspiration when I read about the kings of Judah and Israel. They were real people dealing with the role of leadership and ruling over their people. One theme that runs through all their history is that when a king turned to God in time of trouble or war when their enemies were coming up against their nation, God always came to their aid and delivered them.  I want to give you some references to prayers and victories that God worked for them.

Solomon built the temple and prayed to dedicate it. Here is how he began his prayer.

He knelt down and lifted his hands towards heaven.
O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all heaven and earth. You keep your promises and show unfailing love to all who obey you and are eager to do your will.
May you watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name. May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭6:20-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Solomon’s grandson, Abijah went out to war against Jeroboam who had twice the number of fighting men that Abijah had. Abijah declared to Jeroboam and his army,
The Lord is our God and we have not abandoned him. We are following the instructions of the Lord our God but you have abandoned him. So you see God is with us. He is our leader. Oh people of Israel do not fight against the Lord the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.

His priests blew their trumpets and went to battle against Jereboam and his army. At the sound of the their battle cry God defeated Jereboam and the Israel army. Three quarters of Jereboams army fell before King Abijah.  2 Chronicles 13

King Asa, Abijah’s son reigned after him. An Ethiopian army of one million men came to attack King Asa and his people. Asa had only half the number of soldiers that the invading army had. As a cried out to the Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty. Help us oh Lord our God for we trust in you alone. It is your name we have come against this vast horde. Oh Lord you are our God do not let mere men prevail against you. So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army.  2Chronicles 14

These are some examples of the King’s prayers and how God helped them against their enemies. Many other Kings in Israel did not call on the name of the Lord. A prophet warmed them, “The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him. Whenever you seek him you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.”

God is the same God today, yesterday and tomorrow. There is still no other God like him in heaven and in earth. If one seeks him he will find him. God will come to those who call upon him and help him in time of trouble. I recommended you my reader, no matter if you are on the furthest part of the world, God is there for you to call upon to help you today.

UNCERTAINTY

Posted in My thoughts, Nations, Provision by

There is much uncertainty in our nations, whether we live in the west, east, north or south of the world in these days. We are remembering fifty years ago man went to the moon. Nothing seems impossible for man then. The sky wasn’t the limit any more. They showed a view of the earth from space. One could see the circle of the earth, blue seas and white clouds.
Many nations have prospered since then and this has brought much benefit to mankind.
But sadly despite prosperity, more food, more health care and more money available, mankind has passed laws to kill their young. It is inconvenient to have a child. “It will interfere with my joy, my work, my lifestyle. I don’t want any trouble” say those who abort their offspring.

Will we have Brexit or not? Can I sell my goods at a good price? The rich are pressing on leaving the poor behind.
But with God who created the heavens and the earth, the astronauts saw, there is certainty. In the following Psalm we are given hope. He is with us in time of trouble when you trust him. He sends the river of God, the Holy Spirit who will lead us into life and truth. For those who believe in God and his Son Jesus there is a future. We are not to worry. God will care for us.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭46:1, 4-7, 10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you are distressed or despairing please read this aloud. Declare the truth and don’t be shaken by the nations in uproar.

Believe God and don’t Fear

Posted in Cancer, My thoughts, Nations, Prayer by

The Lord delivered the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt with great signs and wonders. He opens the Red Sea for them to cross over, he sent plagues to Pharaoh and Egypt. God intended that they take possession of the Land of Canaan and He promised He would fight for them. Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan to check it out, if it was a good land, was there cities, were there crops, what were the people like. The spies came back with a bunch of grapes it took two men to carry. So the land produced abundance of grapes. There were cities and a land flowing with milk and honey.

But ten of the spies reported that there were Giants in the land and they would eat their children up. They gave a bad report to the thousands of people that were in the camp. Instead of looking at the Grapes they looked at the Giants. Two spies, Joshua and Caleb tried to silence the people and said “Don’t be afraid. With God’s help we can defeat the Giants and take over the land. But the people doubted God’s help and were afraid of the Giants.

Because of their unbelief the children of Israel didn’t get into the Land God had promised them. The ten spies died and the rest of the people had to wander around a desert for forty years!

This story really shocked me when I first read it. I couldn’t believe that the people missed the opportunity to get a new inheritance that God was going to freely give to them. All they had to do was obey God and he would show them how to defeat their enemies. They had to suffer in the desert looking at sand for forty years! Joshua led their children into the Promised Land. Their parents who saw the Promised Land but didn’t enter into it, died in the desert.

I thought to myself, “I want to believe God and not have doubt and fear of my enemies.” I don’t want to live in a desert the rest of my life and my children have a chance to enter into their Promised Land. Caleb, one of the men who believed God, said at the age of eighty years of age, “Give me my mountain!” I say the same today, “Lord give me my mountain!”

Aren’t we often like the people of old when faced with difficulties that seem insurmountable, like the Giants. We complain and get afraid. If God has given one a promise that he wants one to have it. All hell will be let lose to try and stop one getting what God has promised. For example God promised Brendan and me unity in our lives. I believed God but our enemies came out against us. The same enemies the people of Israel had, fear, doubt, unforgiveness, rebellion, rejection, religion, cancer, to mention a few. With God’s help we continue to be alive, believe God and walk in unity. He has defeated our enemies as they rise up against us and as we walk in obedience.

Here is the reading that inspired me to write to day and testify to God’s faithfulness in the land of the living.
There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows.
They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites. They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him.
So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated.
The plunder taken from the Hagrites included 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and goats, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 captives.
Many of the Hagrites were killed in the battle because God was fighting against them. The people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh lived in their land until they were taken into exile.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭5:18-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬.

Not only did they get land but they got plunder. The different enemies represent different demonic powers that are holding on to what belongs to us. It may be our property, our jobs, our husband or our children and our grandchildren. With the power of Jesus name and his Precious Blood we can fight Satan and his hordes. He is already a defeated foe with all his demons. He has no right to hold onto what God has intended for me. We can’t be passive, apathetic, angry or disappointed. We have to fight for what belongs to us. Fighting means believing God, dressed in our armour and praising him to help us win the battle. As Nehemiah said, “Remember The Lord who is great. Let us fight for brothers, our wives, our children and our homes.

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The Redeemed’s Story

Posted in Cancer, Family, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations, Slovakia by

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭107:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Though my blogs on WordPress I write stories of what The Lord has done for me in my life. I was in despair and feeling hopeless. I developed cancer and was near death. My family and friends cried unto The Lord for me and God saved me from death and delivered me from the growing tumour. The doctors couldn’t explain how the cancer disappeared.

The Lord is the God who made the heavens and the earth and all that dwell therein. No matter what nation you are from God made it all. I live in Ireland, a country on the edge of Europe surrounded by water. We in Ireland have a heritage of Faith in The Almighty that extends back 2000 years. Sea travellers brought the news of Jesus to these shores in the first century AD. We have stories of the redeemed in Ireland that have been handed down through writings or stories told in families from generation to generation. The Irish are renowned as great story tellers.

The Irish travelled by sea to Scotland, England and into the heart of Europe via their rivers. They brought their stories and simple way of life to the nations in Europe. St Coulumbanus is buried in Italy. Another monk is remembered in Switzerland. The Irish went to Slovakia, where my son and his family now live. They told their stories of how they were redeemed from the hand of their foes.

The Lord saved me from the grip of Satan who was bringing me to death because of my sins of rebellion and bitterness. Jesus died on the cross, shed his blood and broke the power of the prince of this world over mankind. He provided a way of escape from those held in darkness by the blinder of people’s lives. I called on Jesus to save me from death. I received his power to be delivered from death. I’m alive.

Psalm 107 describes my situation.

Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭107:2, 17-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

No matter what ones situation or whatever nation you belong to, call on the name of Jesus. Many young people are suffering despair and are suicidal because of war, poverty and disappointment in the nations. God will hear and act on your behalf. His word promises to help the poor and needy.

““The poor and needy search for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know, may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:17-20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The water refers to the Holy Spirit whom God will send as we call on his name. He will work the miracle needed for you.  What he has done for me, he can do for you.  God bless you today.

The Comforter has Come

Posted in Healing, My thoughts, Prayer, Thoughtful Thursday by

Jesus was talking to his friends at the last supper when he explained to them what was going to happen in the future.  He was fore telling his death and that he was going to leave them.  

“But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: 
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; 
but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
‭‭John‬ ‭16:6-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Jesus called the prince of this world, Satan.  “The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.”  John 12v 31.  Jesus defeated Satan when He shed his blood on the cross.  Satan’s power over this world was broken.  When we believe in Jesus we come into God’s Kingdom and Satan doesn’t have to rule over us any longer.  We believe this by faith in Jesus.  We need to progress in the knowledge of God and not let Satan deceive us any longer.  The Holy Spirit leads us into truth.  

He reassured  them that he would sent a comforter, the Holy Spirit.  
The Holy Spirit is referred in the scriptures as the helper, the advocate, the counsellor as well as the comforter.“

In these troubled days who doesn’t need a comforter.  A father, mother, child or friend may not be with one in his life to bring friendship and comfort.  But God promised a comforter who will never leave or forsake one.  He is the Holy Spirit.  

By believing in Jesus one can ask the Holy Spirit to come into one’s life.  God will give him the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of speaking in tongues, a different language than one’s own. This is prayer language that builds our spirit up. With this prayer one defeats Satan.

Don’t be afraid to receive the Holy Spirit.  Ask the Father in Jesus name to send you the Holy Spirit.  If one asks his own father for a gift, will he not give him it.  How much more our Heavenly Father will give to us The Holy Spirit.  He will not give us anything that is harmful.

Water in the Dry Valley

Posted in My thoughts, Nations, Testimony Tuesday by

“The Holy Spirit is often referred to as water in the scriptures. Jesus told his disciples before he was going to his death that he needed to go so he could send the comforter, the Holy Spirit to them. The Holy Spirit gave them power to be witnesses for the Saviour and to work miracles, signs and wonders like Jesus did when he was on earth.

I was excited to read the story in 2 Kings 3 about the King of Israel, the King of Judah and the King of Edom going to war against the King of Moab. The three kings and their armies had travelled through the wilderness for seven days. They were in big trouble because they had no water for their men, horses and cattle. They were afraid the King of Moab would defeat them.

King Jehosophat called for the prophet Elisha a man of God. He asked God to help.

Elisha said, “Now bring me someone who can play the harp.” While the harp was being played, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha, and he said, “This is what the Lord says: Make this dry valley full of ditches. You will see neither wind nor rain, says the Lord, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals. “

But this is only a simple thing for the Lord, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab! You will conquer the best of their towns, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.” ‭‭‬‬

The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭3:9, 15-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God worked a miracle by providing water for so many people.
Can the same God not send his Holy Spirit to the dry valleys of our lives? Yes he can.
I pray that God will pour out his Spirit on anyone who is dry and thirsty today in Jesus name. Amen.

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Abortion

Posted in Birds, Family Friday, Ireland, My thoughts by

Here in Ireland, the beauty of creation is all around me. The sun is high in the sky during the day giving warmth and brightness, inviting us to enjoy outdoors. The odd shower of rain brings a colourful rainbow between the rain clouds and the light. There is a big moon in the sky at night. It’s draw causes Strangford Lough to fill up at high tide. The light from the moon reflects off the still water.

I am reading in Psalm 139 this morning.
“Oh Lord you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
To you the night shines as bright as day,
Darkness ad light are both alike to you.” V 1 and 12
Our creator God keeps all of nature going by his power. The sun or moon are not falling out of the sky. God is faithful. This same God promises me in Psalm 68 v 19 that he loads us with benefits every morning. Just imagine his kindness and care and things working out in our lives daily. His mercies are new every morning. God is speaking to me through the birds that are beginning their song on this the longest day of the year in Ireland. He cares for the birds will he not care for us.

The mighty God who created the sun and the moon created us in our mother’s womb. I read further in Psalm 139 v 13, 15 and 16.
“You made all my delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.”

Someone sent me an article from rightoflife.org that 10 pregnancies over twenty weeks are terminated in the mothers’ wombs per week in England. A child can live outside the womb at twenty weeks! The baby in the womb is killed with an lethal injection into the heart.

The Word of God clearly states in Psalm 139 that God knits the baby together in its mother’s womb. He creates life. There is a thief who comes to rob, kill and destroy, John 10 v 10 says. The thief is the devil who is behind the destruction of the unborn in these days. When war broke out earlier this century men gave their lives to defeat the evil that was rising to take over Europe. Six million Jews were exterminated in the holocaust. Today there is a silent holocaust of babies across the world.

Perhaps the young woman doesn’t know the seriousness of having an abortion because her boyfriend says it’s okay, her family says it’s okay, the doctors say it’s okay and one’s government says it’s okay. She doesn’t know the truth that God created the baby in the womb and it’s against God’s laws to take life.

The same God provided a Saviour to forgive us when we break the law and sin. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Forgive him for he knows not what he is doing.”
Northern Ireland is one of the safest places on the earth for the unborn. Northern Ireland was a safe place for Brendan and I to have the fourteen children God gave us. When I was expecting my 11th child the consultant suggested I may have a Down’s Syndrome child. He would have offered me a termination if I was frightened. I declared to him that God gave me this baby and He will bring him forth safely. I changed consultants.

Brendan and I had fourteen children because we believe God gives life and children are a blessing from God.

From Ireland missionaries went all over the world to bring the gospel including the new world which is the USA and Canada. Sadly now Ireland’s government is giving money to to nations to promote abortion.

Despite the holocaust and bad news there is hope. The same Jesus who died and rose from the dead is still willing to forgive sin and deliver one from the power of the devil. Ask for his forgiveness and he will freely pardon and renew hope for this life and the life hereafter. Remember Jesus said to the thief on the cross, today you will be with me in Paradise.